About GLF Climate 2021
Hosted digitally and in Glasgow alongside COP26, the GLF Climate 2021 hybrid conference made a unanimous call for ambitious, concrete action to stop the climate crisis.
Attended by 4,386 digital participants from 145 countries, along with 481 in-person participants at the University of Glasgow, the event featured 400 leading scientists, activists, Indigenous leaders, financiers, youth, and government leaders.
Across 67 plenaries, interactive sessions, launches, and climate talks, GLF Climate: Forests, Food, Finance – Frontiers of Change explored the potential of three key climate solutions: forest restoration, resilient food systems, and sustainable finance. Messages spread on social media rallied 41.34 million people around concrete ways to address the climate emergency as quickly as possible.
How community forestry is contributing to stopping forest degradation
Over the last 30 years, forests have been increasingly at the center of discussions within multilateral agreements on climate. Recent global initiatives have focused much attention on either reducing deforestation by conserving existing forests or restoring degraded land through reforestation.
However, less attention has been given to improved forest management and forests restoration by local communities, which plays an important role in reducing the impact of climate change. It also addresses the many interconnected drivers of deforestation and forest degradation, by increasing resilience, both economically and ecologically. Numerous examples demonstrate that community forestry can significantly contribute to climate adaptation and mitigation.
Through this session, the Rainforest Alliance and its partners highlight the importance of community forestry in contributing to stopping forest degradation and enhancing climate adaptation and mitigation.
Case studies of responsible forest management and productive forest restoration conducted by local communities or Indigenous Peoples, at the crossroad between forestry and agriculture, will be given. We present how trade-offs between enhanced ecosystem resilience and increased livelihoods can be met.
We also explore the role of companies, governments and financiers on how to further support community forests and what is needed to scale up this support at the landscape level, identifying and addressing barriers.
